From February 9th to April 3rd, after 53 days of exile, of which the majority was self-inflicted, Mauro Icardi returns to wear the Inter jersey and is confirmed to start against Genoa by Spalletti in yesterdays press conference.

According to Milano based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter finally have one of their key players back on the field but there are still some obstacles to overcome. The first will be understood from the mood of the game tonight.

There are conflicting reports on the state of the locker room. The Gazzetta suggest that the some parts of the squad are very surprised at how quickly Maurito has returned to the team and that there has still been no apology.

“Was it enough to take a public telling off from Spalletti? No? There must be a reason for this, but it is still unknown.”

“The second obstacle is seen in the numbers. The numbers tell us us that even after his 53 day exile, Icardi is still the Nerazzurri’s top goal scorer. A technical value that Inter cannot live without, even more so now that Lautaro is injured. And perhaps the Genoa defenders will be extra worried tonight.”

“At centre forward they will have a striker supported by a team who are extra motivated to exploit Milan’s dropped points in order to go one step further towards securing Champions League qualification. But it is not goo enough to rely on the weakness of your rivals. Champions look further ahead. The only protagonists of this story are the ones dressed in black and blue and their story ends May 26th.”